24 THE CYCLE OF THE SEASONS 



robin (a species of thrush), which may be seen hopping about the 

 bare russet fields searching diligently for stray earthworms. The 

 rich strains of the song-sparrow, the plaintive little trills of the blue- 

 bird, the sweet low whistle of the blackbird, now mingle with the 

 drowsy hum of honey bees as the air steadily grows more soft and 

 balmy day by day. The vast number of migrants arriving are not, 

 however, all destined to remain. Immense flocks are on their 

 way to disperse in various directions towards the north, among 

 them that to sportsmen peculiarly interesting owl-like, russet- 

 coated little bird, the American woodcock, which is the very first 

 migrant coming after the wild geese, and may often be seen, before 

 the snow is thawed in the early morning and evening twilights, 

 feeding in the vicinity of warm muddy springs, where the temperature 

 is more equable than that of the ice-fed brooks. 



Not until the middle of May does vegetation begin to grow 

 with any rapidity. To this rule, however, there is one notable 

 exception. That sweet little trailing arbutus, Epigcza repens, 

 adopted as the emblem of the province of Nova Scotia, known as 

 ' the mayflower,' which stars the sea-green mosses with roseate 

 petals, and throws out gusts of delicate perfume ere yet the winter 

 may fairly be said to be over and done with. 



Near the Atlantic seaboard the progress to summer is like to 

 an advancing and receding tide, a balmy air to-day, harking back 

 to winter weather to-morrow. By degrees, however, the higher 

 sun and the tempered atmosphere bring out the crimson flower 

 clusters of the red-blossoming maple ; the graceful white plumes 

 of the Indian pear and wild cherry break like a white foam over the 

 wayside, while masses of wild azalea, blossoming profusely before 

 the birth of their leafage, cover large areas of the barrens with 

 broad lavender patches. The olive springy mosses, which carpet 

 the dark aisles of the coniferous forests, are dotted with the white 

 bloom of the star-shaped pigeon berry and the tender purple of the 

 pendant ' lady's slipper,' while the twin roseate bells of the feathery 

 vine, Linncea borealis, load the air with delicious fragrance. Soon 

 a new bright foliage is unfurled all over the land, and the forests 

 quickly assume the appearance of a rolling sea of vivid verdure. 

 The warm light brings out into relief the graceful tawny tassels of 

 the alders ; the tips of the maple saplings grow a pale lemon-gold 

 streaked with blood-red splashes, while the swamp willows, lining 

 the watercourses, glitter with a fresh metallic sheen adorning their 

 bead-like rows of silver catkins. Nothing can be brighter or more 

 varied than the Canadian spring leafage in its first purity and 

 freshness. 



About the middle of May the trout in all the lakes and rivers 



